Well, today was a big day for me. I actually had a day off from work, and I decided earlier in the week to spend it working for Volunteers of America.
Some of you may know, my Aunt Debbie is the medical coordinator for the Mississippi Gulf Coast for VoA. My mother and I rode down there today to help out with anything we could. Granted we arent medical people, but we both work hard and want to help. My aunt came through and found us some good tasks. My mother ended up riding with the Red Cross and feeding groups of people most of the day.
I hooked up with a group from Ohio and West Virginia that had come down here to help. They would get daily 'jobs' from whoever needed help, whether its medical supplies, tetanus shots, yard work, food dropoffs, etc. This group of people was incredible. I was instantly taken in as part of this family. All the women were RNs and several of the men were MDs. Most from the same group of churches. We rode around with a big truck full of donated supplies, and a church van that towed a trailer full of medical supplies. (all kinds of stuff, not just basic bandages).
Today I witnessed firsthand the true wrath of Katrina. I knew what I had seen on TV but it was something to behold. You see pictures of some houses gone, some houses moved, some houses ok because they were on a hill or something. Its varied devastation that you see on TV... you dont get to see what I saw today, where we went....
We went to Waveland, Mississippi. Yes I've never heard of the town as well. But its west of Bay St Louis. This is where the eye passed over just to the west. Nothing could have really prepared me for the reality of what I was going to see. It was pure and utter destruction. You've heard these words yes? Well imagine those pretty images you see on TV of some houses still standing and landscape still existing. This place had none of that... EVERY SINGLE HOUSE that USED to exist south of the 'railroad tracks' was GONE. And I dont mean fallen in or twisted up... I mean not there anymore. It was foundations with cinderblocks.... people living in tents... no running water, no generator power, no vehicles to drive because they were all gone.... EVERYTHING. Belongings of people and insulation and bedsheets, etc were all up in the trees 35-40ft off the ground. I almost broke down several times, but I had to remain strong... being the younger man in the group, (and a nickname of "Young Gunz") I was doing a bit of PR with the people we met and trying to keep them in high spirits, the younger girls did take a liking to me, and I dont mind talking to them just to keep them occupied.
First let me say, that New Orleans didnt get much compared to these places in Mississippi. Sure they flooded because they were under sea level from the levees breaking.... but this place had 35-40ft of water come in HARD... not a slow, steady rise like New Orleans did. And now that most of the waters have receeded in the Big Easy, many many of those houses are STILL there. There are none in Waveland, MS or any of these smaller towns nearer to the water. The houses were completely destroyed (and everything in them). This damage is all the way to Dog River in Mobile County Alabama. Driving through this area from Mobile you realize the sheer and utter SIZE of the damage... it will take a VERY VERY long time to get done.
And for you Bush-haters out there, you have no clue how much work and logistics is involved with these projects; nor any frame of reference of how HUGE this job really will be.
We went around house to house, asking people what they needed... they werent very trusting at first. But once you started talking to them, they realize you're not with the government and that you're genuinely wanting to help them. We unloaded so much food I cant even count it all. Everything from tunafish to fruitsnacks.
When you're a man, losing your dignity or pride is one of the worst things ever.... these people looked so broken and lost. I had grown men coming to me, crying on my shoulder... these are 45-50 year old men telling me how they lost everything or how their relative is missing and they cant find them (there's TONS of bodies out in the bayou and marshes that no one can get to yet). I can really see how forming a bond with your team helps you deal with these things.
But I continued to talk with everyone... about football or national events... something to make life seem normal. Its hard tho when your car is flipped upside down or buried under 3ft of dirt (already had grass growing around it too). We had one man who had some nasty cuts on his leg that had become infected, and the RNs got on him quick. He had two tents, one covered by a tarp under the remains of his house on stilts. We gave him a lot of other tarps, and connected them all up so it will stay dry from the rain and will be cooler during the day because it avoids direct sunlight.
I'm going to bed now... I've been up since 5:00am and have been doing exhausting physical labor all day. It was a good day... a great one even. We made a lot of people happy with random acts of kindness, we dropped off a bunch of supplies to a church (the remains of one... they had the remains of their steeple in the parking lot, and a big tarp covering an altar, seats, and pughes, etc... had free bibles out for everyone...) and not even leaving a note I've never EVER been able to touch lives like that before... at least that many. People you wouldnt want to mess with at night... it was straight out of 'deliverance'. But these men cried.... I can only imagine their hurt... I could never understand it completely. But maybe it isnt quite as bad now.
I'd do this every single day if I didnt have to make a car payment and insurance... I've never done something in one day that just satisfied me in such a way.
Good night all.
